Corey Heim runs away with Truck Series race at Charlotte
May 24 - CONCORD, N.C. -- This time, Corey Heim didn't just slam the door on his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition -- he nailed it shut.
Heim's three previous 2025 wins notwithstanding, the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota has had difficulty closing out races with a dominant truck this season.
That was emphatically not the case on Friday night, when Heim led 98 of 134 laps and beat runner-up Ross Chastain to the finish line by 6.229 seconds in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Heim's first victory at Charlotte and his fourth of the season was the 15th of his career, tying him with Matt Crafton for 10th on the career list. At age 22, he is the youngest to reach the 15-win milestone.
It was a perfect night. Heim swept the first two stages of the race and set the fastest lap, scoring a maximum 61 points to widen his series lead to a massive 100 points over second-place Chandler Smith. His margin of victory was the largest ever in the series at Charlotte.
"I felt like we've had the speed the last couple years here, but circumstances haven't let us get it done," said Heim, who has won five of the last nine Truck Series races on intermediate speedways.
"Obviously, it was such a good truck. I had to execute on my part. The pit crew did a great job. Just a really nice clean day. ... It feels great. It feels like we've had a lot of opportunities to do that this year, really. Just can't say enough about these guys. My team gave me a great Tundra, and we just really checked all of the boxes tonight. It feels great."
Chastain was the best of three Neice Motorsports Chevrolet drivers in the top seven. Kaden Honeycutt ran third, and Matt Mills was seventh. But none of the Niece trucks could mount a challenge to the race winner, particularly on longer runs.
"Best in class," Chastain said of his own effort. "The 11 (Heim) is the best in the field right now, and none of us had anything for him. The 7 (Kyle Busch), the 38 (Smith), the 34 (Layne Riggs)-it was a heck of a race (for second) back there between us, but we've got to make it last longer."
Riggs and Busch came home fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Grant Enfinger, Mills, Daniel Hemric, Rajah Caruth and Brandon Jones.
Smith fell victim to a Lap 71 wreck involving pole winner Gio Ruggiero, reigning series champion Ty Majeski and Connor Mosack. The winner last week at North Wilkesboro, Smith was the first driver eliminated from the race and finished 34th.
There were three cautions for 20 laps, two of the yellows for stage breaks.
The only negative for Heim is that there are no more 1.5-mile intermediate speedways remaining on this season's Truck Series schedule.
Next up for the trucks is the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway at 8 p.m. on May 30.
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race -- North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Friday, May 23, 2025
1. (3) Corey Heim, Toyota, 134.
2. (4) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 134.
3. (5) Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 134.
4. (7) Layne Riggs, Ford, 134.
5. (12) Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 134.
6. (18) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 134.
7. (16) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 134.
8. (6) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 134.
9. (8) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 134.
10. (13) Brandon Jones(i), Toyota, 134.
11. (10) Jake Garcia, Ford, 134.
12. (23) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 134.
13. (32) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 133.
14. (24) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 133.
15. (19) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 133.
16. (14) Andes Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 133.
17. (21) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 133.
18. (33) Luke Fenhaus, Ford, 133.
19. (27) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 133.
20. (26) Matt Crafton, Ford, 132.
21. (1) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 132.
22. (20) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 132.
23. (15) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 132.
24. (28) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 132.
25. (22) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 132.
26. (2) Tanner Gray, Toyota, 130.
27. (31) Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 126.
28. (34) Mason Maggio(i), Ford, 123.
29. (29) Cody Dennison, Ford, 121.
30. (25) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 121.
31. (17) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, Driveshaft, 104.
32. (11) Ty Majeski, Ford, 103.
33. (30) Justin Carroll, Toyota, Suspension, 75.
34. (9) Chandler Smith, Ford, Accident, 70.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 128.8 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 33 Mins, 38 Secs. Margin of Victory: 6.229 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 8 drivers.
Lap Leaders: G. Ruggiero # 1-2;C. Heim 3-4;R. Chastain(i) 5-15;C. Heim 16-34;K. Honeycutt 35-39;C. Heim 40-43;K. Honeycutt 44;C. Heim 45-64;K. Honeycutt 65-68;C. Heim 69-103;M. Mills 104;R. Caruth 105-114;S. Friesen 115;T. Hill 116;C. Heim 117-134.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Corey Heim 6 times for 98 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 1 time for 11 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 3 times for 10 laps; Rajah Caruth 1 time for 10 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero # 1 time for 2 laps; Matt Mills 1 time for 1 lap; Stewart Friesen 1 time for 1 lap; Timmy Hill 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,44,34,45,7,17,19,38,98,42
Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,45,7,34,44,19,98,17,38,9
--By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
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